Mahoney 7th and 8th graders enjoy the benefits of South Portland's participation in the State's Maine Learning Technology Initiative once again this year. Each student is loaned an iPad Pro and is able to take the device home to complete homework and other learning tasks once parent permission is formally given.

​Grade 6 students are not part of the MLTI project, but South Portland provides iPad Pros for their use during the school day. These devices do not go home with sixth grade students.

Student iPads are managed by the district, which provides apps that teachers request for use in learning. Apple IDs needed for distribution of apps and ebooks are created and managed by the district. No personal accounts are used on the iPads and students are not authorized to access the App Store.

Establish rules for iPad use at your home. Make sure your students only use the device in a common area where they are easily supervised since Internet access is readily available. Be sure to have an area designated where the iPad will spend the night charging and not available for student use. Also, set up times of use to help students balance their need for non-screen time with their electronically assisted learning.